Inflatable wader garment



Jan. 20, 1959 L. 1.. ANDERSON INFLATIBLE WADER GARMENT Filed Feb. 10,1956 yrnlliil[ IILIIIII'FFFQ 8! \i \i I! INVENTOR LEON L. ANDERSONATTORNEY United States Patent 2,869,152 INFLATABLE WADER GARMENT Leon L.Anderson, Burley, Idaho Application February 10, 1956, Serial No.564,652

1 Claim. or. 9-20 This invention relates generally to garments andparticularly to garments known as waders, used generally by thoseengaged in fishing or hunting activities in areas where deep waters maybe encountered.

The primary object of the invention is to provide inflatible meansconnected with the wader garment in such manner that the wearer thereofwill be buoyantly supported in the water in upright position should theuser step, fall or move into water of a depth which may prove dangerous.

A further object of the invention is to provide the wader garment ortrousers with inflatible means so connected therewith as to maintain thebody of the wearer at all times in true upright position while floatingin the water.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an infiatible bagor sack so attached to the garment as to be generally relieved of allstrains or pressures when in actual use in maintaining the body of thewearer buoyant, whereby to lengthen the life of the inflatible sack andto obviate against leakage or other defects therein.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the wader garmentwith an inflatibie sack to encircle the body of the wearer well abovethe waist and at the armpits, and which is equipped with suspender meansattached directly to the garment and entirely free of the sack in orderthat strains and pressures which might otherwise be borne by the sackare delivered to the suspenders and the wader garment itself.

With the foregoing objects in view, together with others which willappear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novelconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts, all as will bedescribed more fully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawing, andparticularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawing: a

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved buoyant wader garmentconstructed in accordance with the invention and illustrating theposition it will assume when in use,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged transverse sectional view taken throughthe inflatible sack and illustrating the manner in which the sack issecured to the waist band of the wader garment, and

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the position the sack will assume whendeflated.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the

- wader garment is indicated generally at 5 and will include awaterproof covering comprising the legs 6 with the boots 7 permanentlyand hermetically connected thereto, the upper end of the garment beingextended upwardly above the waist as shown to provide an upstandingwaist band indicated at 8. This garment assumes a pants-like structureand may be formed of any suitable material, having tie strings 9 ifdesired in order that the waist portion thereof may be snugly drawnabout the body to embrace the same. This garment is supported upon theuser by the usual suspender straps 10 which are fastened at the rear ofthe garment to the exterior thereof and extend over the shoulders of thewearer to be engaged at their forward ends by buttons 11 secured to theouter face of the waist band of the garment.

The inflatible bag or sack 12 employed in carrying out the invention,may be formed of any suitable flexible airtight fabric, either ofrubber, a combination of rubber and cloth, or of synthetic material.This sack comprises an elongated sheet of fabric of sufficient length toentirely encircle the upper part of the body of the wearer, being of alength substantially corresponding to the length of the waist band ofthe garment. This sheet of material is bent longitudinally upon itselfto provide a relatively flat sack, and the ends are brought together at12'. and cemented securely to one another as well as to the innersurface of the waist band 11 below the upper edge thereof. Any suitablecement or other material may be employed in establishing this water andairtight connection, or the connection may be made by suitable wellknown vulcanizing processes. The bag or sack may be equipped with aninflatible tube 13 as shown, having one end attached as at 14 to thesack and equipped at its outer end with an inflation nozzle having theusual valve (not shown) as will be understood.

It will be observed, particularly with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of thedrawing, that the meeting edges of the inflatible bag are securedtogether as well as to the waist portion of the garment well below theupper edge of the garment and upon the inner face thereof. Thisstructure aids in the proper securing of the inflatible sack to thegarment and provides the upstanding Waist band portion 3 to which thesuspender or other supporting means is fastened. It is obvious,therefore, that the weight of the waders, which may be material whenwet, will be borne by the suspenders as well as the waders and theinfiatible sack will be free of such weights.

The width of the relatively fiat inflatible sack is such that it extendswell up the body of the wearer and to and within the armpits beneath theshoulders so as to be disposed in its entirety well above the waist orhip line and against the chest and back of the wearer. It is obviousthat by so constructing and arranging the inflatible sack, the upperpart of the body will be maintained well above the surface of the watershould the wearer move into water beyond his depth. The suspender straps10 pass over the shoulders of the wearer and assist in maintaining therelative flatness of the sack as well as confining the sack or bagproperly in position against the chest and back and in the armpits, andrelieve the inflatible bag of any weights or stresses in the support ofthe relatively heavy wader structure when wet.

The means for inflating the bag here illustrated is but one manner ofaccomplishing this end, but it will be understood that if desired thewell known puncturable cylinder containing suitable gas may be employedfor the same purpose.

From this description it is apparent that a wader garment equipped withan inflatible sack constructed and arranged in accordance with theinvention will enable the user to safeguard himself against beingsubmerged should water of unusual depth he accidental-or otherwiseencountered. it is also obvious that with an inflatible sack constructedand assembled with the wader garment in the manner described, the entirestructure may be readily folded and involved a package of small compassfor carrying, storing or display purposes.

I claim:

A wader garment to enclose a portion of the human body, comprising legsand a waist portion integral therewith and including a waist band tosubstantially embrace the body, an inflatible relatively flat sacksecured at its lower edge to the inner surface of said waist band andbeing of a width substantially equal to the distance between said waistband and the armpit of the wearer, said sack conforming to the chest andback portions of said body, means secured to said sack for inflating thesame, and supporting suspenders secured at their ends to the outersurface of said waist band at the front and rear thereof whereby toextend over the shoulders of the wearer in close engagement with theouter surface of said sack to maintain the relative flatness of the sackand to hold the latter tight against the body and with said upper edgesadaped to engage in the armpits of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSAnderson -i Mar. 21, 1933 Meyers Mar. 10, 1942 Stokes Aug. 11, 1942FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 9, 1918 France May 9, 1913

